Karnataka govt imposes ’corona curfew’ in Bengaluru and 6 other cities from Saturday. Know details

Karnataka government has decided to impose night curfew from 10 April for a duration of 10 in six cities which are witnessing a surge in covid-19 cases.

Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa said,"'Corona curfew' (night curfew) will be imposed between 10pm-5am from 10 to 20 April in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru, Kalaburagi, Bidar, Tumkuru, Udupi and Manipal."

However essential services to be exempted from the night curfew.

Appealing to people of the state, especially those from places where the curfew has been imposed for cooperation, the Chief Minister said "as corona is spreading, we have taken this measure to control it. We are not imposing any lockdown."

People should not give room for such an action (lockdown) and should wear masks, maintain social distancing, and not gather at a place, he said. "We are trying to implement the suggestions given by the Prime Minister within this framework." With public cooperation, the spread of virus can be contained, the chief minister said. "...that's the reason, without imposing night corona curfew in the state, we have selected some district centres... we want to see how effective it will be, if things don't come under control, we may have to extend it to the entire state," he said.

Responding to a question, the Chief Minister said the curfew was on a trial basis and people should support it.

Marriages, functions, meetings and events will have to happen within the limitations that have been fixed, he said, adding that ₹250 fine is being imposed for not wearing the mask and it will be made more stringent

With surging coronavirus cases in Bengaluru, the Karnataka government today decided to intensify testing in the city with a target of 1 lakh tests a day and conduct a door-to-door survey to identify positive cases.

"Instructions have been given to conduct one lakh tests per day in Bengaluru and to identify at least 20 primary and secondary contacts for each case," Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar told mediapersons.

Meanwhile, Karnataka on Thursday added 6,570 fresh cases of COVID-19 and 36 fatalities, taking the caseload to 10,40,130 and toll to 12,767.

The day also saw 2,393 patients getting discharged after recovery, pushing the cumulative tally of discharges to 9,73,949 , the Health department said.

According to a department bulletin, out of 53,395 active cases, 53,038 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and stable, while 357 are in ICU.

A total of over 2,23,23,599 samples have been tested so far, out of which 1,08,757 were tested on Thursday alone.

Today is the third consecutive day the state has reported over 6,000 fresh cases,with 6,976 cases on Wednesday.

Bengaluru Urban alone accounted for 4,422 cases today.

Among the 36 deaths reported, 22 are from Bengaluru Urban, Kalaburagi 3, Bengaluru Rural and Mandya 2, and one each from Belagavi, Bidar, Dharwad, Kolar, Mysuru, Tumakuru and Vijayapura.

Kalaburagi accounted for 240 new cases, Mysuru 216, Tumakuru 183, Dakshina Kannada 145, Uttara Kannada 142, Bidar 129, Ballari 126, followed by others.

Bengaluru Urban district tops the list of positive cases, with a total of 4,64,438, followed by Mysuru 57,385 and Ballari 40,308.

Among discharges too, Bengaluru Urban tops the list with 4,20,751, followed by Mysuru 54,739 and Ballari 39,119.